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cackball · 9 days ago

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RANT TIME ⚠️

Warning‼️ I truly love Eustass Kid as a character, but I want to write about a few things that occur a lot in headcanons, especially when it comes to possible romantic relationships with him. Keep in mind it’s purely my headcanon. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s fantasy about him but if you’re in for it, be prepared for a DOOMED Eustass yumeship headcanon. mwahahahaha

>> Again, I do not have a problem with people writing cute fluffy stuff about him x self insert. In fact I find a lot them sweet and comforting actually. I just want to voice out something that has been on my mind since I’ve witnessed his appearance in Sabaody (yes he was actually my most hated character in One Piece at some point).

So. I’m fairly new to the tumblr side of the Kid Pirates fandom and I really like all the content about the headcanons and stuff, they really got me giggling kicking my feet n shit right. But what I’ve noticed though is that a lot of the time, a lot of people usually only headcanon Eustass Kid as this tsundere-like angry cute character that doesn’t have the capacity to show love through words and gentle affection, but instead he will only show it through this intense and passionate kind of affection(?) where he gets really possessive, protective, maybe a little show-offy, all that stuff.

I just want to say… It’s,,, It’s all just in the honeymoon phase man… It’s really cute when he acts all shy and stuff in contrast to his usual rough and tough exterior, it’s charming when he’s obviously trying to impress you but tries so hard to make it subtle, basically when the relationship is seen through rose-tinted glasses. But when that phase is over and he gets used to you, he will definitely hate when he sees through the cracks in the relationship’s imperfections and externalize it through violent actions. He’s also quick to anger too, which can get,, let’s just say really ugly. He’s definitely got a lot of trauma going inside his head and body. Personally, I don’t see him as someone who can maturely process his own emotions in a healthy way because he’s never got the chance to. I’ll admit he’s actually very smart and talented with insane potential, but maybe because he knows that well, he can’t keep his ego in check. To me at least, he probably feels like he’s too good for all of that self-improvement bullshit. Even if he tried to improve, he might be the type to try to find fault in literally EVERYTHING except himself for his own issues. (ok this part is obviously my projection)

You might like the fact that he’s a perfect candidate for a ‘scary’ partner that will always protect you when you’re in danger and kill everyone that gets in your way, but it can REALLY get awry. Like genuinely toxic. I’m saying stuff like socially isolating you where you will have no other friends or anyone to talk to except him, gaslighting, basically beating you down mentally until you become completely submissive to him, and not in a good fetishy way. In a horrific, ugly-crying, plate-throwing, bottle-smashing kind of way. In the way that limits your future potential, and even happiness/enjoyment even if he never consciously intends to make you suffer or wants to see you suffer. The happiness you experience will only be limited to how much he allows you to have because his brain operates in trauma and coping mechanisms. Plus the fact that as pirates without plot armor like the Straw Hats, the Kid Pirates (more like Eustass himself tbh) are definitely a bunch that takes survival of his crew very very seriously, and will always have himself on edge to keep everyone safe, even if it meant sacrificing fun and happiness (like when at the end of Wano, he doesn’t like the partying and all that stuff. He even limits his crew when they were chatting with the Straw Hats to prevent them from getting attached to them). He’s got his priorities straight and he’s someone who relies on ‘rationality’, but he’s the type of person who wouldn’t even realize that being angry also is being emotional. To him it’s a way of exercising power. He’s an extremely ambitious person who values POWER. Not just physical, but also in social dynamics, as shown with his crew members acting totally subservient to him and Killer in the way that all of them put themselves beneath the captain and the vice.

The way he grew up, it won’t be surprising if he completely shuts off the emotional parts of his brain to protect himself from the possibility of being hurt because while he’s tough in skin, he’s very very fragile in heart and mind. Him not being used to romantic relationships will see the relationship as very very important, maybe even prone to putting it on a pedestal. The fact that he’s treading new waters means he’s willing to be vulnerable. The thing is, the fact that he has to face this vulnerability means his fragile sense of self will be kept on the line, and he will do anything he can to protect that ego.

If you’re insecure or weaker than him, you won’t be equal to him which in turn creates this huge gap in power dynamics in the relationship. It’ll be easy to control you and beat you down especially when things get bad, when he’s desperate such as when there’s a crisis or something else. He’ll hate the fact that you’re ‘too weak’ (according to him) and then look down on you, possibly constantly yelling at you for it too because it might endanger their survival, especially the fact that if you were his romantic partner, he would absolutely hate the fact of losing you and voice it through violence, because he thinks that if you learn your lesson through real physical pain, you’ll finally understand and start to change and get better. This is probably a fact of life for him growing up in a completely shitty place where he only knows of violence. Remember that the life of a pirate is a matter in life or death. He knows this really well. When he crucified and killed all of those people during the timeskip phase, it was basically a way of him projecting his fears and outlook in life into violence, stating that weak people should stay in their place or die. His life has always revolved around violence so it would be the first solution ingrained in his instincts, especially with his short temper. Just. Imagine growing up and living your entire life in survival mode. That shit will do things to your brain man I’m being fr.

In contrast if you’re tough and confident, he might see you as competition and there could be more fights than affections (maybe something like his dynamic with Law and Luffy, except that if it was a daily occurrence, it would annoy the fuck out of him because again, he loves winning. He wants to be the king of the pirates and will kill anyone that makes fun of him for it). Sure there would be teasing and stuff but it could easily escalate into something worse. He doesn’t see you the same way he sees Killer as an equal, but as an outsider to his little world.

The reason he doesn’t do this with Killer is because Killer complements him perfectly, in the way that he balances him out and always keeps him in check without threatening is ego and position as captain, and we can see that Killer is powerful enough for that. Especially with the fact that they’re childhood friends, Killer being the older one and most possibly plays a caregiver role during both of their developmental years, so he definitely knows Eustass from the ground up, knowing how to calm him down, how to please him, how to hammer logic into his head, etc. Both of them growing up together is a very important aspect to consider because people like Eustass Kid WILL always respect their caregiver(s) very much, for people who’s been with him and supported him through everything. Eustass KNOWS for a fact that Killer will always support him and have his interest prioritized, but doing so in a way that increases their chance of success, not to try to control him or give orders even if it meant for Eustass to back down.

When someone new comes into the picture, it’s an entirely different story. It will be nearly impossible to experience the same kind of respect he gives to Killer. He’s not a blank slate filled with fear and trauma waiting for someone to comfort him intimately, to finally unveil him of his tough exterior. Maybe at some times, his subconscious might yearn for it, but at his core he’s a hard-headed leader with his own standing, constantly reaching for his ambition. It will be very hard to earn his respect considering his amount of ego. Hell, even Killer who took the role as his caregiver and being the more grounded one ends up being the vice-captain instead of the captain.

Also keep in mind that he’s got major fucking trust issues. You’re playing with fire. You’re in for a life of being constantly accused of cheating, trying to betray him, or hating him when he’s stressed or unstable. REMEMBER THAT HE GREW UP IN A FUCKED UP PLACE AND HE’S SHORT TEMPERED. HIS BRAIN IS FUCKEDDDDD. Like even if you’re obviously not trying to go against him and everyone else in the crew knows that it’s all just in his head, but because he’s the captain, the leader, the commanding one, everyone kind of just goes along with what he thinks, either because they look up to him or because they just don’t want to escalate the situation even if they know it’s not the truth. Like I said, his ego is devouring him from the inside.

— cringe personal rant warning —

DON’T GET ME WRONG THO I love Eustass (now) and I absolutely think he is very deserving of love and relationships that are gentle and affectionate. BUT. but. I’m,,, I just wanna say,,, Having someone like Eustass Kid around is very very mentally draining and honestly, only really strong people who are patient, understanding, and compatible enough to balance him out can keep up with his extreme behavior. I guess this is more like a cringe rant from years of personal experience because I’ve got a Eustass Kid at home that’s actually eerily similar to the him in a lot more ways than i’d like to admit. Dude they even have the same exact birthday 😭😭😭 I can’t fucking do this anymore,,,

Ok now to end it, the things I’ve talked about him here might just be a hell of a stretch. Of course this is fiction and fantasy, and a little sunshine and rainbow in a barren meadow is beautiful but. I’m just saying. In fact, I’m just projecting. Yeah. This is doomed as hell. Thanks for listening to my ted talk.

#kid pirates #one piece #eustass kid #self ship #self insert #personal rant #sorry for the rant #definitely not projecting #i’m done

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cackball · 10 days ago

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